Britain's first eco-nightclub powered by pounding feet opens its doors

Cyclists and walkers get free admission and the dance floor is so high-tech it generates its own electricity when people move on it.

The brainchild of 35-year-old property developer Andrew Charalambous, aka Dr Earth, Surya has its own wind turbine and solar energy system. They plan to donate any surplus electricity to local residents.

The venue has the latest air flush, waterless urinals and low flush toilets and sells drinks in polycarbon cups.

Entrance is £10 but customers will only be allowed in if they sign a pledge promising to work towards curbing climate change.

The club is based at Bar Surya in Pentonville Road. Jade Jagger will be supporting Dr Earth as a DJ tonight.

Mr Charalambous, Tory donor and head of the climate change organisation called Club4Climate, said he hoped to use clubbing to inspire young people to tackle global warming.

'This is a new way to draw in the young generation,' he said.

'Unless we stop preaching to people and use an inclusive philosophy we're never going to create the revolution to combat climate change.

'There is no greater platform than clubbing to reach out to young people.'

The dancefloor uses the concept of piezoelectricity, where crystals and ceramics create a charge to generate electricity.

'We estimate that if you had loads of clubbers dancing vigorously it would provide 60 percent of the club's energy needs,' said Mr Charalambous.

However, his claim that his club is the 'world's first ecological nightclub' has raised the hackles of the Sustainable Dance Club (SDC) in the Netherlands.

'They are not sustainable in our rules,' SDC spokesman Vera Verkooijenat said, ahead of the September launch of Wvatt, which has been dubbed the 'world's first sustainable dance club'.

'It's not only the nightclub, it's the whole organisation that should be sustainable.'

Club4Climate has also been involved in projects to plant one million trees and plans to set up a holiday destination that is entirely self-sufficient by 2010. But when it tried to donate its profitsto Friends of the Earth, the offer was turned down, with FoE saying it wasn't happy that Club4Climate appeared to encourage international flights.